Back problems are one of the most common and debilitating occurrences in people of all ethnicities. In the United States alone, over 500,000 spine lumbar and cervical fusion procedures are performed each year. One of the causes of back pain and disability results from the rupture or degeneration of one or more intervertebral discs in the spine. Surgical procedures are commonly performed to correct problems with displaced, damaged, or degenerated intervertebral discs due to trauma, disease, or aging. Generally, spinal fusion procedures involve removing some all of the diseased or damaged disc, and inserting one or more intervertebral implants into the resulting disc space. Replacement of injured or deteriorated spinal bone with artificial implants requires a balance of knowledge of the mechanisms of the stresses inherent in the spine, as well as the biological properties of the body in response to the devices.